A Trip to Nowhere
by moonshadow
Summary: A story I wrote when bored. A S/J fic, but with a different view. What happens when the Goblin King gets bored of being....well the Goblin King?


standard disclaimer: Labyrinth stuff in general does not belong to me, so there!  
  
A/N: This story is just something I wrote while bored. All reviews are welcome, flames are allowed, and I hope you enjoy my little piece of stuff!  
  
  
  
Chapter 1: A Trip to Nowhere  
  
  
  
Sarah Williams lay in her bed on a Saturday evening, listening to the wind tap the tiny branches of the tree outside against her window. She felt herself dozing when a soft voice, seemed to call her name.  
  
"Sarah." it said.  
  
Her eyes flashed open and she glanced around the room but saw nothing but her normal messiness strewn about her one bedroom apartment. She listened, perplexed, to her own breathing and decided that the wind was perhaps a little too loud this evening. Finally, she closed her eyes again and felt herself being once more drawn into sleep.  
  
"Sarah." it came again, but more loudly.  
  
This time Sarah sat up, "Who's there?" she demanded, trying to keep any shakiness out of her voice.  
  
A few moments passed unanswered but then a low voice came from the shadows in the corner of her room, "Really Sarah, has it been so long you've forgotten my voice already?" the King of the Goblins inquired.  
  
Shock was the first feeling that surged through her body, followed by a healthy dose of fear as Sarah propelled herself from her bed and grabbed the bat by her headboard she used to make herself feel safe from intruders.  
  
"Okay, come out into the light right now." she ordered.  
  
"Really, how rude of you." he replied, but he stood and came out into the moonlight.  
  
Sarah had to keep herself from dropping the bat onto the ground. The Goblin King hadn't aged at all since the six years she had defeated the Labyrinth. Instead, he looked exactly as she remembered. However, she was not fifteen anymore and could ignore the attraction.  
  
"What do you want Goblin King?" she asked, keeping the bat at the ready, although she knew it was probably pointless.  
  
He stretched out his hands placatingly before him, a gesture of peace. But Sarah couldn't, wouldn't be fooled.  
  
"I just wanted to talk." he said, "Or is that too common for a King?"  
  
She didn't know quite how to respond to that, only that she really didn't believe he had only come to "talk".  
  
"What did you want to 'talk' about?" she asked, not bothering to keep any sarcasm out of her voice.  
  
"Well, for starters, how about lowering that silly weapon you have, hmmm?" he asked, the edge of his voice teasing.  
  
Sarah, cautiously lowered the bat but kept a tight grip on it all the same. "So you haven't answered my question Goblin King."  
  
"Please, call me King Jareth."  
  
"I'd rather not."  
  
"I insist."  
  
"Too bad."  
  
He looked hurt, "Very well, this isn't how I pictured our glorious reunion but it will have to do." He sat down on her bed, not bothering to ask permission or anything.  
  
"Make yourself at home." Sarah said, a sharp edge to her voice.  
  
The Goblin King either didn't notice her discomfort or chose to ignore it.  
  
"This type of thing isn't easy for me to say Sarah." he said, his voice no longer jesting.  
  
Caught off gaurd by his frankness, Sarah frowned, "What isn't easy?" she asked, her voice still slightly wary.  
  
He stood, and walked past her to the window, his movements all dramatic and flair, he placed his gloved hands on the windowsill and stared out into the darkness.  
  
"I've decided I needed to speak with someone and have chosen you." he said. With the last word, he turned around sharply and looked down in her eyes. Sarah hadn't realized she'd been standing so close to him and backed up a step.  
  
"Excuse me?" she asked.  
  
"Do you have any idea how boring it is to be the Goblin King, Sarah?" he asked.  
  
She had no response but simply stared at him.  
  
"Have you ever tried to talk to a goblin?" he asked  
  
She shook her head, "No, the time I spent in your world I was busy trying to get my brother back! Or had you forgotten that?"  
  
He cocked his eyebrows up for a moment then shrugged, "That wasn't my fault." he said, "And I'm willing to forgive and forget if you are."  
  
"What?" she exploded, "Forgive and forget what? Did you forget who kidnapped who?"  
  
"It wasn't my fault you asked your little brother to be taken away, now was it?" he asked, his voice bored. He busied himself by picking up and examining the clutter on her dresser.  
  
Suddenly unafraid of the Goblin King, Sarah plucked out a bottle of perfume from his slender fingers and put it forcefully back on the table.  
  
"Okay. Out." she said.  
  
"What?" he seemed abashed.  
  
"You heard me, you have no right to be here, and now I'm telling you to leave."  
  
"I'm not here to do anything to you Sarah, so calm down." he said, "I really did just want to come and talk to you."  
  
"Why me?" she asked him.  
  
"Why not you?" he shot back.  
  
She turned around, a small growl escaping her throat. He grabbed her elbow tightly, forcing her to stop mid-stomp.  
  
"Okay, okay, perhaps I should explain." he said, his fey eyes boring into hers, "Will you let me do that?"  
  
"Is this some sort of trick?" she asked suspiciously.  
  
He let go of her arm, "No tricks Sarah, not right now."  
  
"Alright," Sarah said, sitting down on her bed, "Go ahead and explain."  
  
He let out a sigh, "First of all you should realize that I never did want to be King." he waited for a reaction and at an unsatisfactorily raised eyebrow from Sarah he went on, "My brother was supposed to take the throne, but unfortunately he died before  
  
he could ascend the throne. Broken heart you see." he said as if it were a natural cause of demise, "Anyway, I tried to get out of it but my parent's refused to have another child or at least adopt one for my sake. So, " he shrugged, "there I was, King of the Goblins for twenty-three hundred long, boring years." He seemed bent on reflecting on the length of time for a few moments in silence. Sarah decided to help him on.  
  
"So then what?"  
  
"What?" he seemed startled, "Oh, yes. Well, after nearly three centuries of taking in unwanted children and turning them into my Goblin subjects I was feeling rather restless. That is," he said dramatically, "until you visited."  
  
Sarah shrugged.  
  
He seemed annoyed by her lack of enthusiasm, "To make a long story short, I've decided that I would like to talk with you about things to make life a little more interesting for me. And that's that." he said.  
  
"So, you want me to talk to you, for like theraputic reasons?" Sarah asked. "Why should I?"  
  
"Because Sarah, I need some fun!" he said heatedly.  
  
"Why don't you put some goblins in the Bog of Eternal Stench or something?" she asked.  
  
"Well, that get's to be really boring, not to mention disgusting once the little buggers find their way back home. They really do smell forever, did you know that?"  
  
Sarah listened to this with a mixture of pity, suspicion, and as much as she hated to admit it, excitement. How neat was it that a Goblin King sought her out for company? But still, she was undecided at what she was going to do about it.  
  
"I don't know Jareth," she said, deliberately dropping the "King", "but I'll have to think about it." She reached over and flicked on the lights, she winced as the brightness stabbed at her eyes. The Goblin King remained silent, the very pinnical of brooding people everywhere.  
  
The silence began to grate on Sarah's nerves and she reached over and turned on the radio. An announcer was busily selling something and she only half listened to his inane words.  
  
"-so if you need to relax, and get away from it all, come to Tahiti! The most beautiful island in the world. Deluxe overwater bungalows and a nightlife that will have you partying till the sun comes up again!"  
  
Jareth turned, "What is that man talking about?" he asked.  
  
Sarah shrugged, "Tahiti, it's an island in the Pacific somewhere." she said.  
  
"Is it true what he says about it?" The Goblin King was interested.  
  
She frowned, "I've heard good things about it. Why?"  
  
He only smiled, "Nothing." He walked over to her and leaned over her bed, planting a firm kiss on her lips before she could protest, "You are sweet Sarah. Thank you." he purred in her ear before disappearing with a flash of light.  
  
Sarah touched her fingertips to her lips, wondering what the hell had just happened.  
  
  
  
THREE DAYS LATER  
  
The next few days passed so normally that Sarah wasn't really sure if she had dreamt the whole scenario or what. She was annoyed with the Goblin King for simply coming and then going that she didn't really acknowledge her disappointment. It would have been a nice change of pace she had to admit, to have someone to talk to. Being a full-time waitress and out of work actress had merits but not that many. So it was with some surprise that she realized she was actually sorry to not see the Goblin King again, and to make matters worse, she couldn't forget about that damn kiss.  
  
She was busy folding her laundry on the couch when she heard a polite cough behind her. Her heart leaping in what she told herself was absolutely not anticipation she spun around.  
  
But if she had been expecting to see the tall and elegant figure of the Goblin King she was sorely disappointed. Before her stood a small man, who resembled a prune to put it nicely. He wore a deep purple shirt over deep purple pants and was extremely wrinkled. He looked pointedly at her out of deep blue eyes behind tiny round spectacles.  
  
"You are Sarah Williams." it wasn't a question.  
  
"Uh...yes." she answered.  
  
He coughed politely, "I hereby announce that you are under arrest for the kidnapping of King Jareth of the Goblin Realm. If you do not hand him over immediately, you will be put to death. I am now ordered to escort you to the royal castle."  
  
Sarah could only stare, "Excuse me?" she asked.  
  
  
  
  
  
ELSEWHERE…….  
  
He lay on his back, basking in the glow of the warm sun. He tanned perfectly and he knew it. He sat up for a moment to sip the icy drink the bartender had made him and grinned, his eyes flashing behind their dark sunglasses.  
  
Laying back down on his towel, he smiled again, his smile turning into a slow chuckle and then into a laugh. His laughter played across the beach and made those around him stop to listen to it, their faces mesmerized by the sound.  
  
The Goblin King stopped laughing after a short moment and looked out at the ocean before him, no doubt about it, but life was good.  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: If you want me to continue, just say so. If you have any ideas, let me know and I'll try to incorporate them into the story. All contributors will be acknowledged. Thanks for playing, come again! 


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